Innocence
by Rose Midnight Moonlight Black
Summary: Goblins are thieves by nature, they likes things that can only be take once. And when Jareth steals Tallant, Damian is forced to realise there are something brute force can't take, and which can only be given up willingly. However unfairly.


_Disclaimer: I own nothing, duh._

_For Campionsayn, I own her for her last lovley peice and while this took a while, I decided to cut it short and post what I have, with maybe adding more at a later date. Labyrinth, good film but not easy to incorporate. - Opps, I only just realised that the last part of the 'chapter' got cut off when I put it up, so I've just changed it!_

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><p><em><strong><span>Innocence <span> **_

_**I swear **_

_I__ swear..._

All little children are told fairytales. They are whispered myths of old and stories designed to guard them against the unexplainable and dangerous. All little Robins are cautioned against the risks of magic, how magic is untrustworthy and those who practise it are unreliable.

But then, when did Damian ever do what he was told?

Casting his eyes around the dusty stone labyrinth, Damian fingered his katana sword. The path appeared to lead on for miles and miles, stretching further than his eyes could see – and beyond the wall in front of him, lay a Goblin castle with his twin trapped inside. The teenager prince's lips twisted into a sneer of disgust as he adjusted the straps on his armour and set off down to the left, his hand resting against the wall as he ran. He so hated Goblins, foul little creatures.

And as he was coming to realise, he despised their king even more.

"_I wish you'd just go away," Damian shouted, gesturing wildly at his younger brother. His sword was expertly twisted between his fingers, gracefully and lethally arching through the air around him. Tallant didn't even blink as he stared at his twin, his big blues eyes (partially concealed by his hair) burning into Damian in a way that he couldn't stand. There was no expression on the young teenager's face as he shrugged. _

"_Yet, here I am." The tiniest of smirks played on Tallant's lips, the smallest amount of amusement making him as every bit as arrogant as his brother. "And here I'm planning on staying."_

_Damian sneered at his brother, placing his sword in his sheath. "Unfortunately," The Arabian Prince hissed, "but I don't think it will last." He slammed his door, since heaven forbid their _other_ brothers get involved in this. _

_Tallant quietly settled himself on his twin's bed, not bothered by the poisons glare sent his way, "And why would this not last, Brother?" _

"_Because you don't belong here! I know Mother only sent you to kill me," Why Talia would want that didn't need to be said, though Tallant could truly bring himself to believe their Mother would ever want Damian dead. Safe with their Father, but not dead. And suddenly Tallant was tired of his twin's paranoia._

"_Surprisingly Damian, this doesn't actually have anything to do with you – since it was Father who brought me here." He folded his hand into his lap, and watched from behind his long hair as his brother stomped around the room._

"_I don't WANT you here!" Damian shouted._

"_Why?" If Tallant's lip trembled, Damian ignored it._

"_I wish someone you take you away, anywhere!" Damian ignored the question, because really he didn't have an answer. "Anyone!"_

"You're going the wrong way, you know."

The young Prince started, spinning around with his sword drawn. No one was there, the desert like corridor was empty. Not a soul in the first ring of what he was starting to think might be hell. "Who's there?" He shouted, tightening his fingers around the grip. The young teenager would never admit, but a part of him wished he had a partner covering his back.

"Just me!" A chirpy voice answered, echoing around the hall. Casting his eyes around, circling around to check every side, Damian still couldn't see anyone.

"Why can't I see you?" He asked cautiously.

"Because you're looking in all the wrong places." The voice sighed, "Down here, silly."

And against his better judgement, Damian looked down. On the ground, there was... well, a bug of some sort – except it was hairy and talking. It smiled at the look on Damian's face, one that clearly translated to _'you're fucking kidding me!_' – and even to the blood Prince of Gotham, talking bug was... well not extreme but certainly unexpected.

"See? You _can_ see me! You know," it carried on, "you're going the wrong way. I assuming you're going to the castle?" The confused prince nodded absently, lowering his sword slightly. Damian knew he could take the bug if it was a threat, he stand on it or something.

"I...I'm trying to save my brother." He explained quietly, as if ashamed of it.

"Of course you are." The bug dismissed him, "but you're still going the wrong way, and the wrong way about it."

Damian scoffed, "yeah, and what does an insect know about saving people?"

The bug, crawling rather disconcertingly up the wall (and Damian move as far away as he could without looking like he was) chuckled, "Not a lot, I'd say. But I know a lot about Goblins, especially about Jareth." The bug raised an eyebrow (and why did it have eyebrows?) and looked him up and down. "And I'll admit, you certainly not what we normally get."

Damian sheathed his sword again, fiddling with the ornate but functional dagger on his belt, "And what's that?"

"Girls mostly, young ones on the brink – Jareth likes to mess with them. Well every man will have a type I suppose." The insect shrugged and kept crawling. Clearly the Bug wasn't at all bothered by pointing out it King's bad habits, and as a Bug maybe it wasn't a bother.

"What has that got to do with me?" Damian snapped, kicking a rock – he didn't have time to be playing useless games with bugs; he was running _out_ of time. He wanted to go home.

"Well, you think he's just going to let you walk in and take your brother, right?" The bug gave him an incredulous look.

"Of course not, I'll fight him." He crossed his arms. The freakin' bug thing laughed again.

"Nope! You couldn't beat Jareth, kid. He controls this realm and everything in it – Time included. No one can face Jareth in a fight. You don't _fight _the Goblin King."

"Then HOW do I win?" Damian shouted angrily. "You're wasting my time!" He turned around, jumping over the broken tree branch.

"You don't win, Kid, no one wins." The bug looked grave, unaffected by Damian's anger, "and if you're smart, you'll get to walk way, maybe with your brother. But Jareth always wins and he always gets what he wants."

Damian paused, he let go of his sword for a second, "and what does he want?" He asked, not facing the Bug.

It didn't reply at first, and the silence was chilling, bouncing off the stone walls towering over them. A cage, it wasn't a Labyrinth or a maze – it was a tomb. Shivers ran up and down his spine. Just maybe it was meant to be his Tomb but Damian was sure that it was Jareth's trap, primed and ready.

"What he always wants, Kid. And you'll know that soon enough."

Damian started walking.

"_Now now now, not need to shout Damian," the voice was soft, deep and _seductive _and completely unexpected._ _ Damian spin around, sinking into a fighting stance – he didn't understand how someone could just sneaked up on him but also broken in to his room, his home! How had his Father and siblings miss him?_

_But the ...man standing in front of him wasn't exactly a random 'someone'. He... searching his face, Damian just _knew _this, whatever it was, wasn't a man. It wasn't human, no matter how much it looked human. His face was sharp and carved like, his lips twisting into a dangerous grin and his clothes fluttered like they weren't bound by the normal laws of the world. _

_Something just wasn't _right_ about him. Drag Queen. Like something that was pretending to be human but had misinterpreted what humans really looked it. _

"_Who are you?" Damian asked, edging towards his weapons, "Where is Tallant? What did you do with him?" Surely, Dick and his Father knew this man was here, that Tallant was in trouble?_

_The man smirked teasingly, "Only what you wanted, Little Birdie."_

_Damian hissed at the taunted, lunging for his sword, "Don't call me that! What did you do?"_

_The ... thing in his room waved a finger to scold him mockingly, his sword shooting into the air out of his fingers, "now, don't be like that, Baby Birdie. You wished your brother away and I answered. You said _anyone_ could have him." The sword twirled and danced through the air, "Aren't you happy now? Not silly little brother to be compared too, to fight for your Father's affections with? Someone you don't have to worry about protecting again or outdueling?"_

_The man's smile was _hungry, "_Aren't you content, Little Birdie?"_

_Damian bit his lip, "Bring him back, now." He resisted the urge to stamp this foot, he wasn't a child after all, "Now!"_

_The man laughed cruelly, the hair on the back of Damian's neck shot up. An edgy feeling he normally only got around his Uncle, Grandfather and Father wrapped around his stomach and his throat, making his breath falter. Like he was messing with something he really didn't understand. Something that would burn him bad just because it could and he couldn't stop it._

"_You know who I am?" The man taunted loudly and surely. His self-confidence might have been arrogant on anyone else, but to Damian, it was more malice filled and bloodthirsty. He could see the way the man's mismatched eyes fixed on him. Playful in a very bad way. _

"_I'm Jareth, King of the Goblins! I _do_ whatever I want, I take whoever I _want _and Little Birdie, you can't _make_ me bring him back. Though I'd love you to try." He purred the last bit._

_He leant forwards, so his inhuman face was on Damian's level, his cold breath on Damian's face, "Why don't you go out tonight, Birdie, and forget about your brother. Forget, and do ask you're told." The threat caught in the air as a challenge... or a promise. Another twirl of his hand and suddenly Jareth was fiddling with something, a glass ball, "I'll even give you something in exchange, something that will make all those dreams of yours come true." The Goblin King smiled temptingly._

_Damian didn't. "I don't care who or what you are." He knocked the ball out of Jareth's hands, "I want my brother back NOW! If you don't give him to me, then I will take him."He grabbed the sword out of the air and turned it on Jareth._

_The King didn't look perturbed, but the smile on his face had become frosty, "Well, have it your way, Little Ghul. But you're playing my game, and you'll lose" His teeth with pointed like a meat eaters, "more than you could guess." _

"DAMMIT!" Damian swore as he realised he was yet again lost. It seemed like every corner looked the same as the last one, and everything he tried – markers, landmarks – every tracking and hunting method inexplicitly failed. He hurled his sword at the wall, the result clatter of steel not making him feel any better.

Dropping on to the filthy ground, he tried to push his seething temper down. This was so _stupid_. The Labyrinth was stupid, the Things that lived in it were stupid, Tallant was stupid and Jareth, above all, was STUPID.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face, feeling the midday sun bearing down on him despite the fact it was the middle of the night back home and it had been like that for what felt and must be hours. Who knew how much longer he had before he lost Tallant?

"You shouldn't throw things around, Stupid boy, or Little Birdie will lost them,"

Damian glared at the...girl, who was holding his sword with two hands, examining it closely. Her skins was pure white, her eyes were blue and her hair a mixture of greenish blonde hair and orange fur. She was taller than anything he had encountered, but still tiny like a young child.

She smiled at him, splitting her face open in a Cheshire cat fashion and Damian noticed her teeth were like animal fangs. He stood up slowly, one hand secretly resting on his dagger the other stretching out to take the sword.

The Goblin-Girl tilted her head to one side but didn't release the sword into him hands, "Ah, do you want it now that you've lost it?"

"I haven't lost it, stupid, you're holding it," Damian snapped tensely, wrapping his fingers around the sheath.

"Tar la la, it's mine now – Finders keepers," The Goblin-Girl sang spinning away from Damian, still holding his sword. Damian stumbled surprised but quickly recovered and lunged that the girl, who with disconcerting display of flexibility, nimbly avoided his touch. He chased her, roaring with rage – all the frustration of the insolvable maze, all his angry at himself for being so foolish to lash out at Tallant, all his worries for Tallant safely, his fury at Jareth's fucking games – exploded.

And the little Nymphet danced, cackling and jeering, through Labyrinth – around one corner, down a hall, up some steps – and Damian followed, blindly.

Eventually, he collapsed to the ground – he had no idea where he was, the desert like walls had turned to grass-green hedgy maze, the dry air was filled where a distorted bird song and smelled of... well cabbage.

The Goblin-Girl bounced on the balls on her feet a few feet away, watching him with unending energy. Damian rubbed his head, too exhausted to be shocked at the sweat he found there. The hot sun hadn't budged from its place in the sky, though time _had_ to have passed since he's become lost.

"Tired, Birdie?" The Goblin-Girl was suddenly leaning over him, pouting childishly. She didn't look any worse for wear, not a drop of sweat or exertion on her face. Damian wanted to hit her, but he was shaking too much to be able to lift his hand.

"Urrrrr," He dropped his head back, feeling the something wet trail down his face. His grip on his dagger loosened. Suddenly, he bolted up right with the strange sensation of something both skin and fur like running over his face. The Goblin-Girl was an inch from his face, curiosity twisting her face as she tapped his face.

He slapped her hand away, "Get away from me!"

The Goblin smiled, "Why cry little Birdie, the game isn't over yet?"

Damian snarled, furiously rubbing his face, "I'm not crying! That's sweat you stupid girl!" He got to his feet shakily.

"It didn't know Humans sweated from their eyes, how curious." She smiled widely now, her cheeks literally spilling open. "I am Quinnzella, Little Birdie."

Damian stared, "I want my sword back, now." He held his hand out expectantly.

The Goblin-Girl giggled, "Why, why, why? It's no use to Little Birdie anyway."

Damian leant against the hedge, crossing his arms over his chest, "I need it to fight Jareth with – I need to save my brother."

The Goblin-Girl laughed, high pitched and loud – one hand raised to cover her mouth (but failing) , the other holding his sword was wave around comically. The teenager glared furious at the Goblin, teeth gritting together to stop his from attacking her like he oh so wanted too. The birds fell silent as the Goblin's cackles bounced off the hedges.

"Silly Silly Little Birdie. Birdie can't fight Jareth, Jareth not fight fair for little Birdie. Birdie will lose, badly." Quinnzella stepped forwards to look him in the eyes.

"I _have_ to fight him, I need to get Tallant back – I don't have a choice!" Damian shouted – why did everyone think he couldn't take Jareth? What was it about the King of the Goblins that make him better than Damian?

Quinnzella nodded, "No choice is right, Birdie. But Birdie doesn't fight; Birdie needs to bargain with Jareth for brother Birdie. All Goblins bargain, not fight."

Suddenly all Damian could see were the row after row of lethal looking fangs in the Goblin's mouth. "Goblins cheat, and cheat very well. Never let Birdie win, Birdie just needs to not lose," She stated.

Damian rubbed his head, "That doesn't make sense. How can I not lose without winning? I need to win to get Tallant!"

"No," The Goblin, if it was possible, seemed to be getting annoyed at him, "Birdie never win, no matter what. Birdie can lose but still not lose – lose but get brother, see?"

Damian really, really felt a migraine coming on, "So... I get Tallant but I still lose? I... I don't get it."

Quinnzella waved his sword under his nose, "Goblin takes," she pulled it away again, "Birdie wants it back – Birdie bargains to get back!" She held out her hand expectantly. When Damian didn't move, she sighed exasperatedly. She grabbed a fist full of his hair and yanked, hard.

"OW, Get off!" Damian swung at her but she was already dancing back, some of his hair still in her hand. Laughing triumphantly, she danced about with it. Stepping forwards with the intention of really hitting the Goblin this time, Damian nearly tripped over his sword. The Goblin had left it at his feet.

He picked it up, eyes widening. "Oh." Was all the Prince could say, as the Goblin's point started to make sense.

"Oh? Birdie _finally _gets it?" The Goblin stilled to look at him.

Damian nodded, "Yes, I get it. I have to offer Jareth something he wants more than Tallant." His face suddenly blanked out. He had already bargained with Jareth hadn't he? To get to Tallant and save him?

"Right right right, Birdie! Only careful, Jareth never bargain fair or nicely, Jareth will take all he can take." She reached over, and despite being at least a head shorter, patted Damian fondly on his head.

Then she nudged him towards the end of the green hall, "Look, Birdie, look or Birdie won't find Brother Birdie to bargain with!"

And Damian was suddenly half way through the maze.


End file.
